You will never surpass your potential until you surround yourself with people who are more successful than you.

Unfortunately, you have surrounded yourself with people that don't know what they want. These people are often confused and lack any sense of direction.

Why You Must Change Your Standard

This environment becomes your standard, and it retards your opportunity to reach your potential. So you fall helplessly into frustration because you can see where you want to be; you just have little support in bridging the gap.

I suffered through this issues for three decades -- surrounding myself with people who don't know what they want. It seems like such a crime, to waste 30 years wanting more from my life but not understanding how to get from where I was to where I wanted to be.

But my perspective improved when I began reading with an intention to grow my skillset. My standard began to change. As a slowly began to apply what I was learning, I began attracting like-minded people. In parallel, I began to cut ties with those individuals that did not share my mindset.

My Virtual Mentors

Today, I spend considerable time learning from my (virtual) mentors:

Richard Branson

Darren Hardy

John C. Maxwell

I am currently, focusing my energies on mastering leadership, from John C. Maxwell. I am committed to reading these books:

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

Developing the Leader Within You

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader

Failing Forward

The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth

The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork

The 360 Degree Leader

The Five Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential

Your Roadmap for Success

My Challenge For You

Now it's your turn. I want you to list at least 3 (virtual) mentors that can help you get to where you want to be. To start you off, Richard Branson is a great first choice. Branson is not only an amazing entrepreneur, but he's an astounding human being.

It's imperative that you surround yourself with people that are not only smarter than you but more successful than you. These people will change your standard and make you strive to become a better person and entrepreneur.